The Queen marked her Silver Jubilee in 1977. The tradition of celebrating the Sovereign’s jubilee year began in the reign of King George III. The last Silver Jubilee of a British Monarch had been celebrated by The Queen’s Grandfather, King George V, in May 1935.

1. The actual anniversary of The Queen’s Silver Jubilee Accession to the Throne was on 6th February, 1977. The national celebrations in the United Kingdom were held in the summer, the highlight of which was the first weekend in June.

2. The Silver Jubilee celebrations opened with the Presentation of Addresses by both Houses of Parliament on 4th May.

3. The Queen reviewed a parade of some 400 Silver Ghost Rolls Royce cars at Windsor on 7th May.

4. The Queen lit the first of a network of Bonfires on Monday 6th June in Windsor Great Park. The bonfires stretched to the farthest corners of the United Kingdom and were also lit in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and East Malaysia.

5. On Tuesday 7th June, The Queen travelled in the Gold State Coach to St. Paul’s Cathedral for the national thanksgiving service.

6. The day of the St. Pauls’ Thanksgiving Service was made a Bank Holiday in England, Wales and Northern Ireland; an equivalent holiday was granted in Scotland. An estimated 500 million people worldwide watched on television and street parties and village parties were held all over the country: in London alone 4000 were reported to have been held.

7. Thanksgiving services were also held in Glasgow Cathedral on Tuesday 17th May and at Llandaff Cathedral on Friday 24th June.

8. In London, The Queen undertook three tours: the River Progress and two drives around the capital. The Queen’s River progress was held on the Thames from Greenwich to Lambeth on Thursday 9th June. One drive took in South London allowing The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh to visit the Royal Hospital Chelsea, Battersea Park, Wandsworth, and Lambeth, returning via Kennington and Vauxhall. The Northern drive took The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh to Camden, through Islington and Hackney returning via Oxford Street and Regent Street.

9. There were six Jubilee tours in the UK and Northern Ireland, enabling The Queen to visit 36 counties

10. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Silver Jubilee visit to Scotland coincided with the opening of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland on 24th May.

11. The Royal Train was used for The Queen’s tour of Scotland enabling her to tour extensively without having to return to Holyroodhouse.

12. The Queen reviewed the Fleet at Spithead from Her Majesty’s Yacht Britannia on 28th June. Ships of the Royal Navy and Auxiliary Services were joined by vessels from the British merchant and fishing fleets as well as ships from the navies of Commonwealth countries and other European countries. In all 150 ships took part.

13. The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh visited Northern Ireland on HMY Britannia spending time at Hillsborough Castle and the New University of Ulster at Coleraine on 10th and 11th August.

14. HMY Britannia was used, wherever possible, during The Queen’s tours of England and Wales. Dinners and receptions were given on board wherever The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh went.

15. During the Silver Jubilee year, The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh visited Western Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Canada, Bahamas, British Virgin Islands, Antigua, and Barbados.

16. During 1977, it was estimated that The Queen travelled 56,000 miles.

17. A silver medal was issued to members of the Crown Services and to others in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries

18. The world of sport celebrated the Silver Jubilee either with already-planned events being extended and given a Jubilee flavour or with entirely new events. For example, a Test at Lords was called the Jubilee Test; a Silver Jubilee Race was held for the Prince of Wales Yachting Cup, a special British Lions v Barbarians rugby union game was played at Twickenham. In addition, The Queen watched Virginia Wade win the Ladies’ Singles title at Wimbledon in the Championships’ centenary year.

19. Special exhibitions took place across Britain. The London museums and galleries held exhibitions ranging from ‘This Brilliant Year’, which looked back to Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee of 1887, at the Royal Academy and ‘Happy and Glorious, 130 years of Royal Photographs at the National Portrait Gallery, to ‘Lousy but Loyal’, a view of East End celebrations of Jubilees, at the Geffrye Museum.

20. At the National Film Theatre on the South Bank, there was a Jubilee Season of 12 films from 1952, including a revival of 3D films shown at the Festival of Britain.

21. Several landmarks were named in honour of the Silver Jubilee: such as the Jubilee Line in London’s underground system; Jubilee Gardens on London’s Southbank; and the Silver Jubilee Walkway that connects many of London’s tourist landmarks.

22. Derby was granted city status in honour of Her Majesty’s Silver Jubilee.

23. During the Silver Jubilee, more than 100,000 congratulatory cards were received and 30,000 Jubilee medals were distributed

24. The Prince of Wales led a National Appeal, known as The Queen’s Silver Jubilee Appeal, devoted to young people and, in particular, encouraging them to help others in local communities.

25. Four special stamps commemorating the Silver Jubilee were issued by the Post Office in May 1977. The Royal Mint issued a commemorative crown piece with a face value of 25 pence.